In various industrial, laboratory and medical applications the ability to combine different chemicals, fluids, medications and other materials in compliance with strict sequence and timing parameters can be critical to success. More particularly, these materials must be kept separate from each other at certain times and be combined at certain times to be effective. In the construction industry, for example, careful attention must be paid to when water is added to cement or concrete mix so the material does not dry before it can be used. Wet laboratory research also requires that chemicals be added and removed at precise times to optimize reactions and avoid degradation of materials.
In medical care, especially in hospital operating rooms, recovery rooms and intensive care units, it is often necessary to deliver multiple medications, fluids and other nutrient materials concurrently to patients via intravenous (IV) infusion. These infusions may need to be kept separate, combined or changed quickly in dose and/or rate. The efficiency with which these infusions can be altered can often have profound implications on their efficacy and for the safety of the patient.
In existing IV tubing systems, dose and rate changes are accomplished through the use of multiple separate sets of IV tubing connected at a distance from the patient to IV fluid/medication bags and/or infusion pumps. If multiple medications and fluids have to be administered through fewer IV access points on the patient, they often are connected via stopcocks that allow multiple lines to be fed into a single carrier line, sometimes at a significant distance from the patient.
These existing approaches have significant drawbacks, which can lead to grave errors and inefficiencies that compromise the safety of the patient. Multiple IV lines can cause logistical difficulties such as tangled, knotted or disconnected IV lines. Caretakers' efforts to resolve these logistical complications often require multiple disconnections and re-connections of tubing, which leads to increased risk of infection and errors during re-connection of similar looking IV lines. The inadvertent connection of the wrong tube containing the wrong materials to the patient's vein can be extremely dangerous and fatal in some cases.
Another disadvantage is that there is a delay in changes made to the rate of administration of the medication because existing IV tubing systems feed the extra lines into the carrier line at a significant distance from the patient. In addition, boluses of fluid or medication may accumulate in the main carrier line, leading to excessive administration.
Therefore, there exists a need for a simpler system that allows greater control and facilitates precise mixing of chemicals, fluids, medications and other materials. There is also a need for a simpler and safer IV tubing system that allows administration of multiple medications and fluids without resort to multiple IV lines. There exists a need for an IV tubing system that facilitates control and precise regulation of the combination of the different medications and fluids at a point close to patients.